hi, i thought answer is obvious C.

But when your subject said 'odd reasoning' i read the question 10 times... & then confusingly looked at OA..

We need to find an answer which shows that printed manuals are better than computer ones in some significant aspect either for customers or the company..and if it can attack the one thing that companies are trying to achieve- cost reduction- then it would be the perfect answer!
A. If people are as comfortable using either, we cant differentiate
B. comparing computer manuals with their printed forms- we dont care about that! Note that it is not comparing the actual printed manuals (provided by the company) with computer manuals. Though even if it were, it is still saying computer ones are better.
D. Splitting the customer set doesnt help- we dont know who is the target customer of the company!
E. This infact says computer ones are better - opposite of what we are looking for
C. Correct option: It is clearly saying that printed manuals = less piracy = enormous profits!! which means that if computer manuals were used, companies will lose on this 'enormous profit' because piracy would become easy and presumable rampant. even if they do reduce cost, the benefit would get negated because of a larger decrease in profits.

IMO C as well and the reason for chosing C is very similar to as explained above.

My reason for writing "odd reasoning" was that we are talking about printed instruction manuals for the programs. How would printing the manual deter software piracy?? The software is as vulnerable as ever before no matter we have printed Instruction manuals or soft copies.
Hope am not missing on somethin too simple! :/

I think ans is C.
We need to find reasons to backup the paper printed copies.
C best describes the answer choice

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Can anyone explain how piracy affects costs? I get that piracy affects profits, but doesn't the question literally state that the plan is to cut costs? I'm pretty sure I've seen similar questions that differentiate between costs and profits.

(A) Most computer users are just as comfortable using instructions on a computer screen as they are using printed manuals. - Irrelevant Comparison
(B) Although instructions on a computer disk can be printed out cheaply using a computer printer, such printouts are less convenient to use than instructions displayed on a computer screen. - Irrelevant Comparison
(C) Because they are expensive and inconvenient to copy, printed instruction manuals provide one of the best deterrents against the illegal copying of software, which costs manufacturers enormous profits.
(D) Instructions supplied on a computer disk are more appropriate for business and educational programs than for computer games and other entertainment software. - Irrelevant Comparison
(E) Instructions supplied on a computer disk can be designed to provide more extensive and more easily utilized cross-references than those provided by printed manuals. - Irrelevant Comparison

Goal- Cutting Costs
Problem- Printed manuals are costly to produce.
Plan- Distribute instruction manuals(softcopy) for their programs on comp disk. Users can refer to manuals on a computer screen.

Gap- What if users cannot open software without reading manuals. I mean what if users don't even get to know how to get to software manuals.

Hello nightblade354 - How soft copy of manual may lead to illegal copying of software ?
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Hi AliciaSierra,

I think you misread the question. It has says that the hard copies are expensive, but we want to justify keeping them. In this case, we are told that hard copies are very "hard" to copy, thus saving the company money. How it is inconvenient to copy is something we do not care about. All we need to know is that we are given a good reason not to transition over to a CD.

Does this help?
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nightblade354,

I am sorry, I may need little more help here.

Some manufacturers of computer software have proposed cutting costs by distributing instruction manuals for their programs on computer disk only, so that computer users can refer to them on a computer screen rather than having to deal with unwieldy printed manuals that are costly for manufacturers to produce.

Let's take argument statement wise.

1. Some manufacturers of computer software have proposed cutting costs--How
2. By distributing instruction manuals for their programs on computer disk only--> impact-- computer users can refer to manuals on computer screen.
3. Then author says, by doing so computer users don't have to deal with unwieldy printed manuals. Unwieldy means- difficult to carry or move because of its size, shape, or weight, too big or badly organized to function efficiently etc.
4. Printed manuals are expensive to produce.

Question- Justify keeping hard copies manual.

Now option C says --Because they are expensive and inconvenient to copy, printed instruction manuals provide one of the best deterrents against the illegal copying of software, which costs manufacturers enormous profits.

I agree C is best answer among other options. Question here I am thinking how in real life soft copy manual will lead to software piracy. Really how ?
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AliciaSierra, there is the problem. We cannot bring real world thoughts into solving problems. The GMAT is a world that both does and doesn’t represent our world. We cannot assume anything. Ever. Unless it is incredibly basic (for example, the idea that humans need air to survive). Anything that isn't as basic as this thought cannot be assumed to help fulfill an answer choice.

Posted from my mobile device
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